South County Trailway

South County Trailway

Looking south as paved South County Trailway ends and enters, unpaved, Van Cortlandt Park.
Length 14.1 mi (22.7 km)
Location Westchester County, New York
Trailheads Van Cortlandt Park
Elmsford, New York
Use Hiking, Cycling
Hiking details
Website Westchester County Parks

The South County Trailway is a 14.1-mile (22.7 km) long rail trail stretching from Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to East View, New York. Construction started in the 1990s and was completed in 2011.[1]

The South County Trailway was constructed along the main line of the former New York and Putnam Railroad railbed in Westchester County, New York (also known as "Westchester").[2] A gap in Elmsford, New York interrupts the trail, and users must use streets there. Construction on closing the gap began in Spring 2015.[3] Much of the trail is in the Saw Mill River floodplain. The Putnam Division provided freight and passenger service from 1881 to 1958 between the Bronx and Putnam County. The railroad served 23 stations in Westchester. Historic marker plaques have been placed at most of the former stations.

The Trailway has become a bicycle commuter route for Westchester residents traveling to jobs in business centers in Elmsford, Getty Square in Yonkers, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The Trailway is not illuminated at night or plowed in winter, making commuting along it difficult but not impossible.[4][5] Residents along the last to be completed portion of the trailway, south of Tuckahoe Road, initially opposed paving the trail, and some homeowners erected high fences along it during construction. Since completion, the trailway has become one of Westchester's most popular parks, and residents in this area have embraced it.[6]

A new controversy developed in 2013 with the announcement that Westchester County planned to put sponsorship signage along the trail. This plan was canceled shortly after the announcement, after opposition arose.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "South County Trailway". Trail Link.
  2. ↑ Stoelker, Tom (February 14, 2012). "Runners vs. Bikers at Van Cortlandt's Putnam Trail". Archpaper.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014.
  3. ↑ Valenti, Ken (August 28, 2014). "Bike trails' last gap between Bronx and Putnam to be filled". LoHud.
  4. ↑ Meisel, Abigail (January 27, 2013). "Commuting 40 Miles to Work On a Bike, With Thermals and Fleece". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "South County Trailway, Westchester County". Yelp.
  6. ↑ McKay Wilson, David (April 30, 2012). "Tax Watch: Astorino says county moving forward on Elmsford missing link on South and North County trailways". LoHud.
  7. ↑ Wilson, David McKay. "Tax Watch: Westchester shelves outdoor ad program for North and South County trailways; Putnam still pushing forward". LoHud. line feed character in |title= at position 12 (help)

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